Protective device for gas bag of ship safety device

ABSTRACT

A protective device for protecting a gas bag of a ship safety device from being damaged when it is brought into contact with any other ship or a quay, the gas bag normally folded and secured to a broadside of the ship and adapted to be inflated by forcing pressurized gas thereinto to give an additional buoyancy to the ship when it gets into a danger such as submergence or overthrow owing to a storm or a collision.

United States Patent Miyamoto et a1.

11] 3,916,809 Nov. 4, 1975 PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR GAS BAG OF SHIP SAFETY DEVICE Inventors: Hiroshi Miyamoto; Miyoshi Kogima,

both of Yokohama; Sadao I-Iashimoto, Hakodate, all of Japan Assignees: Bridgestone Tire Company Limited,

Tokyo; Hakodate Seirno Sengu Kabushiki Kaisha, Hokkaido, both of Japan Filed: Dec. 19, 1973 Appl. No.: 426,027

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 26, 1972 Japan 48-3188 US. Cl. 114/68; 114/123; 114/219 Int. Cl. B6313 43/14 Field of Search 114/68, 123, 219

42 la 40 I20 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,294,081 2/1919 Gasiorowski 1 14/68 3,121,888 2/1964 Morgan et a1. 114/219 3,822,662 7/1974 Morita et a1. 1 14/123 Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Charles E. Frankfort Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fleit & Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT A protective device for protecting a gas bag of a ship safety device'from being damaged when it is brought into contact with any other ship or a quay, the gas bag normally folded and secured to a broadside of the ship and adapted to be inflated by forcing pressurized gas thereinto to give an additional buoyancy to the ship when it gets into a danger such as submergence or overthrow owing, to a storm or a collision.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing figures H 40 If! 40 Sheet 2 of 6 3,916,809

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 F/GLB F/GLZ U.S. Patent -Nov.4, 1975 Sheet3of6 3,916,809

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet4of6 3,916,809

4a /3 I26 I20 W 4 .1 40/4 US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet5 0f6 3,916,809

FIG. 6

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 6 of6 3,916,809

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR GAS BAG OF SHIP SAFETYDEVICE BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a protective device for an inflatable gas. bag normally folded and secured to a broadside of a ship and adapted to be inflated in case of emergency to provide an additional buoyancy for the ship.

2. Description of thePrior Art l It has been known that a ship can be made more stable by giving anadditional buoyancy to the ship by providing inflatable gas bags which are normally folded at broadsides of the ship and inflated by forcing a pressurized gas thereinto when the ship gets into a danger such as submergence or overthrow owing to a storm or a collision and the like. Such a-gas bag, however, has been made of a flexible material such as soft rubber which tends to be damaged when his brought into contact with any other ship or a quay, though it is collapsed in a flat form, and if the bag should be damaged, it can no longer be inflated and does not serve as a safety device for a ship in case of emergency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The protective. device for a gasbag of a ship safety device, said bag secured to a broadside of a ship and adapted to inflate and deflate by filling and removing a gas thereinto and therefrom, said protective device comprises fenders fixed to a periphery of said gas bag normally flattened by removal of said gas therefrom.

In another aspect of the invention at least a front end of the fender is chamfered on its bow side.

An object of the invention is to provide a protective devicefor protecting a ship safety device using gas bags to ensure that the bag can be assuredly inflated to pro vide an additional buoyancy for the ship in an emergency so as to avoid a disaster at sea.

1. Another object of the invention is to provide a protective device. for a gas bag of a ship safety device capable of reducing resistance to water and minimizing splash of water. a v

-Oth e r and further objects, features and advantages of the'invention will appear more fully from the following description. A

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. l isa-front elevation of a protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device according to the inven- FIG. 2 isa'n enlarged sectional view of the protective device taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view similar to that shown in FIG. 2 taken along the line III'III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing a chamfered portion of the fender according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation showing a second embodiment of the device according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation showing a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 5 or 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of the device shown in FIG. 5 showing a chamfered portion of the device; and

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of the device shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a gas bag I made of suitable elastomeric material such as rubber and the like is secured to a broadside 2 of a ship by means of mounting means described in detail hereinafter. The bag I is connected to a compressed gas source (not shown), e.g., a gas bomb carried on a deck of the ship through a suitable conduit (not shown) including a valve which serves to fill or remove the gas into or from the bag for the purpose of inflation and deflation thereof. In a normal position, the gas bag is collapsed or folded into a flat form as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, between a flat mounting surface 1a of the bag and a wall of the broadside 2 is interposed a facing plate 3 against which flanges lb integrally formed in upper and lower sides of the flat mounting surface 1a of the bag are urged by means of fenders 4 made of an elastomeric material such as rubber and the like to securely mount the bag on the broadside. In the. embodiment shown in the drawings, a pair of fenders 4 are arranged one on each upper and lower side of the bag in the longitudinal direction of the bag and, however, so long as the fenders are adjacent'to the bag itself, fenders for the purpose may be located in any other arrangement, for example, on all sides 'of the bag.

In a collapsed position of the bag which has fully evacuated the pressurized gas therefrom, the front and rear end portions 1c of the bag are provided with protective plates 5 made of an elastomeric material such as rubber and the like which have a thickness substantially the same as that of the collapsed bag and are in mating engagement with the end portions in a configuration to minimize the resistance to water at the end portions 10 of the bag when cruising. The gas bag 1 collapsed in a flat form is restrained in the form by holding plates 6a at the lower ends of a plurality of wire ropes 6 which serve to hang the gas bag at the upper side thereof and protrusions Id formed in the ends of the bag adapted to be detachably fitted in notches of the protective plates 5 fixed to the plate 3. The protrusion Id is preferably formed on one side facing the plate 3 with a button 1e.

adapted to be forcedly fitted in a corresponding recess formed in the notch of the plate 5 (FIG. 2).

The fenders 4 consist preferably of end fenders 4a and center fenders 4b. The end fender 4a is fixed to a metallic intermediate plate 8 cemented to the upper surface of the protective plate 5 arranged on a metallic fixing plate 7 which is fixed through the facing plate 3 to the broadside 2 by means of a bolt 9 and a nut 9a as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The center fender 4b is fixed to the facing plate 3 by causing a bolt 11 to pass through a metallic fixing piece 3b of the plate 3 and tightly screw into a female threaded piece fixed to a metallic fixing piece 10 fixed to the inner surface of the fender 4b, interposing' the flange lb of the gas bag between the plate 3 and the piece 10. After the gas bag I and the center fender 4b and the facing plate 3 have thus assembled, the assembly is securely mounted on the broadside 2 by means of bolts 12 and nuts 12a. At least the front one of the end fenders 4a which is positioned on the bow side of the fender 4 is chamfered 42 at its bow side to reduce resistance to water and minimize splash of water as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The gas bag 1 is formed on all or a part of its outer surface with a number of ridges If in parallel with a cruising direction of the ship to reinforce the surface of the bag. The fenders 4 and the protective plates 5 are formed at their bottoms with flared portions 13 adapted to be in contact with the broadside 2 surrounding the peripheries of the facing plate 3 in order to prevent the fenders and the protective plates from catching a fishing net and the like.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 7 and 8, wherein a second embodiment of the invention is shown, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment have been utilized to identify like parts having the same function. In the embodiment, fenders 4 are arranged in the form of a band around the full-length of the periphery of the gas bag 1 in collapsed or flat form, which are preferable for minimizing resistance of the bag to water when cruising.

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7 and 9, wherein a third embodiment of the invention is shown, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment have been utilized to identify like parts having the same function. In the embodiment, fenders 4 are arranged around the full-length of the periphery of the bag 1 as in the second embodiment. The fender 4 consists of front and rear end fenders 4a, 40 and center fenders 4b. At least the upper fender 40 has a front edge arranged at right angles to the cruising direction of the ship and an upper edge arranged in parallel with a draught line of the ship to prevent water pushed aside by the fender from raising when'cruising at a considerably high speed.

In the second and third embodiments the gas bag 1 is kept in a collapsed or flat form by means of a plurality of wire'ropes 6 connected at their ends to the bottoms of the front and rear ends of the bag 1 and passing throughpipes 14 embedded in the fender 4 so that when the'upper ends of the wire ropes 6 are raised, the bag is maintained in the collapsed or flat form by the tensioned wire ropes.

The protective device for gas bags for use in the ship safety device according to the invention as above described comprises'novel fenders 4 which effectively protect the gas bag 1 from being damaged which would otherwise be likely to be damaged, so that the bag can be assuredly inflated to provide an additional buoyancy for the'ship in an emergency so as to avoid a disaster at for mounting the bag on the broadside of a ship comprising, in combination, outwardly projecting fenders extending along the upper and lower sides of said bag in the cruising direction of said ship, means for mounting said fenders on said broadside with the corresponding marginal edge portion of said bag sandwiched therebetween, said fenders extending outwardly from said broadside to a distance in excess of said bag in the folded condition, outwardly projecting protective plates extending'along the front and rear ends of said bag and means for mounting said protective plates on said broadside with the corresponding marginal edge portion of said bag sandwiched therebetween, said protective plates extending outwardly from said broadside to a distance in excess of said bag in said folded condition thereby providing with said fenders protection of said folded bag from damage.

2. A protective device for a gas bag of a ships safety device as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least the front ends of the fenders adjacent the bow of the ship are chamfered. 3. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fenders are arranged on all sides of the bag.

4. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fenders are formed at their bottoms with flared portions adapted to be in contact with said broadside of the ship. v

5. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fenders con sist of front and rear end fenders and center fenders,

and at least the upper end fenders have a front edge arranged at right angles to a cruising direction of the ship and an upper edge arranged in parallel with a draught line of the ship. I

6. A protective device in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said fenders include a center fender and an end fender on each side of said center fender in aligned relationship therewith and including a facing plate disposed adjacent said broadside in underlying relationship with said fenders and said protective plates, a fixing plate between said facing plate and each of said protective plates and an intermediate plate secured to the upper surface of each of said protective plates in underlying relationship with said end fenders and wherein said mounting means include bolt means 

1. A protective device for a normally-folded gas bag of the type forming a ship''s safety device, said bag being inflatable and deflatable by filling and removing a gas thereinto and therefrom and having a marginal edge portion extending along the periphery of the bag for mounting the bag on the broadside of a ship comprising, in combination, outwardly projecting fenders extending along the upper and lower sides of said bag in the cruising direction of said ship, means for mounting said fenders on said broadside with the corresponding marginal edge portion of said bag sandwiched therebetween, said fenders extending outwardly from said broadside to a distance in excess of said bag in the folded condition, outwardly projecting protective plates extending along the front and rear ends of said bag and means for mounting said protective plates on said broadside with the corresponding marginal edge portion of said bag sandwiched therebetween, said protective plates extending outwardly from said broadside to a distance in excess of said bag in said folded condition thereby providing with said fenders protection of said folded bag from damage.
 2. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship''s safety device as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least the front ends of the fenders adjacent the bow of the ship are chamfered.
 3. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fenders are arranged on all sides of the bag.
 4. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fenders are formed at their bottoms with flared poRtions adapted to be in contact with said broadside of the ship.
 5. A protective device for a gas bag of a ship safety device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said fenders consist of front and rear end fenders and center fenders, and at least the upper end fenders have a front edge arranged at right angles to a cruising direction of the ship and an upper edge arranged in parallel with a draught line of the ship.
 6. A protective device in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said fenders include a center fender and an end fender on each side of said center fender in aligned relationship therewith and including a facing plate disposed adjacent said broadside in underlying relationship with said fenders and said protective plates, a fixing plate between said facing plate and each of said protective plates and an intermediate plate secured to the upper surface of each of said protective plates in underlying relationship with said end fenders and wherein said mounting means include bolt means for securing said fixing plate to said broadside and wherein said facing plate is provided with a fixing piece on its upper and lower marginal edges, a fixing piece on the inner surface of each of said center fenders engageable with the marginal edge portion of said bag, a female threaded piece secured to said center fender fixing piece and bolt means threadedly engageable with said female threaded piece for securing said center fender fixing piece in clamping engagement with said bag marginal edge portion. 